"'It's not anything that's achievable in the near term,' he said. 'I
think getting [the Employment Non-Discrimination Act], a repeal of
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and full domestic partner benefits for federal
employees will take up all of what we can do and maybe more in this
Congress.' Frank also said that advocacy for the 'certainty
provision,' as described by Nadler, would create 'political problems' in Congress. ... Frank
said the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders lawsuit against
DOMA, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, stands a better shot of
overturning DOMA than congressional action. The lawsuit specifically
targets the portion of DOMA that prevents the federal government from
recognizing same-sex marriages. 'That's very thoughtful, very well done,' Frank said. 'That's the way we'll win this.' "

Frank is correct: A legislative DOMA repeal is not achievable in the short-term. But the congressional repeal and the DOMA lawsuits—which have a strong chance at a favorable ruling—should not be mutually exclusive and it's important to build momentum. Not sure how "strategic" it is for the legislative branch to assume a lawsuit will succeed in the judicial branch.

We've got to pick our battles and ENDA and DADT are doable NOW and we've got to focus!

There are going to be some people are going to shout and scream and throw Barney under the bus, but I'm glad that he's smart and strategic. I hope that he will hold a Town Hall Meeting with the LGBT community and put it out there that we've got to be serious about our topics and deal with them as they are dealt with--ONE AT A TIME! We can't be acting like there is indeed a GAY AGENDA that gets signed off on like some all-or-nothing credo!

WE ARE A PEOPLE WITH INDIVIDUAL ISSUES AND THEY MUST BE HANDLED INDIVIDUALLY!

I don't see anyone throwing Barney Frank "under the bus." At least not on this blog. But it's amazing how the stock of certain people go up and down when they do something randomly "strategic" or "pragmatic." When Barney Frank introduced and fought for TRANS EXCLUSIVE ENDA because it was "strategic" and "achievable" the comments were less than kind. Ditto when he defended that hateful DOMA brief.

Rev Kev, I love you dearly and often agree with you but I disagree. There seems to be a school of thought that there is only enough political capital to do certain things. "We have to health care before gay rights, hate crimes before ENDA, etc." No. We can do many things at once. Government and activism does this all the time. We have many issues that we have to work on simultaneosly (sp?). I don't see the problem with introducing a DOMA repeal. At least it gets the conversation started.

DADT repeal is not "achievable" in the near term. Very few senators are supporting it, the White House isn't and Durbin made it clear it's not happening now or likely before 2012. And it also looks like we're going to have major problems with ENDA in the Senate. We need 20 more senators on ENDA. That might not going to happen in this Congress. So how is "strategic" to push for DADT or even ENDA now? And when does a congressman say he is going to wait for the Supreme Court? And are we sure the Democrats are going to control the House next Congress?

"But with the exception of Congressman Frank, there seems to be wide-ranging consensus among almost every other element of the LGBT community about the timing and substance of the bill. More than 50 groups -- including national LGBT groups, the statewide equality organizations, and litigators ­ signed on to a letter urging members of Congress to cosponsor the RMA.

"Our view is that every branch of government should be engaged in the process of getting rid of this discriminatory law," said Mary Bonauto, chief counsel for GLAD on the Gill v. OPM case. "Every day we see the damage DOMA
causes families in the states, denying families access to the federal safety net, penalizing them financially, and rendering them second-class. We need to engage all levels of government in ending this discrimination."

Barney Frank vs all of the national and LGBT groups, all the statewide groups and 90 something congressmen. So we should just be "strategic" and wait for a court case? Gotcha.

I'm a long time reader and have to agree with Chris, if memory serves, Frank was vilified throughout the gay community, on this page and by certain commenters (ahem)for his ENDA bill. It was "pragmatic" to excludes transgenders right? Like Bush was going to sign ENDA and it had a chance in the Senate, right? But Barney Frank still pushed ahead despite massive LGBT support for an inclusive ENDA.

We can work many issues at once. But Barney Frank is a legislator. He is supposed to legislate, not wait for court cases. I'm not going to throw him under the bus, it's simply a difference of opinion. I think we all can work on many issues on many fronts (courts, legislature, NGOs, grassroots, etc). He introduced a new ENDA bill and is about to hold hearings, I think Rod reported. But I'm never going to say I "trust" Barney Frank or any other politician.